Friends character Emily Waltham disappeared from the sitcom for one specific reason, according to director James Burrows.
Portrayed by Helen Baxendale, who later added Cold Feet and Death in Paradise to her CV, Emily was of course married to Ross Geller and featured in 14 episodes overall.
In the autobiography Directed by James Burrows: Five Decades of Stories from the Legendary Director of Taxi, Cheers, Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace, and More, Burrows claimed Baxendale's lack of comedy chops ultimately worked against her.
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"[Ross actor David] Schwimmer had no one to bounce off. It was like clapping with one hand," the director wrote.
"In sitcoms and any type of romantic comedy, the funny is just as important as the chemistry. We discovered that any new girlfriend for Ross needed to be as funny as Rachel [Green, played by Jennifer Aniston].
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"Often, you can't recast, because of tight shooting deadlines or other logistical considerations. You need someone who gets laughs. Sometimes you start an arc and it ain't working out, so you have to get rid of that person. If it's a day player, it's a quick goodbye."
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This somewhat brutal revelation comes after one-episode wonder Jennifer Grey opened up about the recasting of her Friends alter-ego Mindy Hunter.
"I was a fan of the show, and I got the call to do it," she recalled back in April. "Then when I did it, I had such bad anxiety because they kept changing the script.
"It made me so anxious that I could barely do it. I didn't know at the time what was going on with me, but I had a lot of performance anxiety, and I just didn't understand at that time that I needed help in the anxiety department."
Friends streams on Netflix in the UK, where it also airs daily on Comedy Central. In the US, you can stream the show on Max.
Reporter, Digital Spy
Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment.
In the film and TV universe, he kneels at the altar of Jim Carrey, Daniel Plainview, Mike Ehrmantraut and Paulie Walnuts.
